A Problematic Affair
by ReluctantSlashFan
Summary: Leah imprints on someone she least expects.
1. Prologue

Leah watched as the Volturi (or whatever the hell they were called) disappeared into the shadows, vampires and werewolves (or, apparently, 'shapeshifters) celebrating around her. She sat back on her haunches, letting her eyes skate across everyone. Jacob was barking happily, running around Bella and Edward as they hugged Renesme between them. The Cullen leader, Carlisle was talking to a couple of blood suckers while his wife hugged Alice and Jasper. Behind her, Leah could hear her brother yipping, Quil, Paul, and Embry copying him, and even Sam seemed content.

She still didn't trust the vampires, she doubted she ever would, but she counted it as a victory. They had won… sorta. No one had died; no one important that is; though even she was smart enough not to mention the blood sucker that had been burned in front of them. She could still hear the screams, could still see the other two vamps react to her death. She could relate; if something like that had happened to Seth she'd react the same way.

With a sigh, she decided to sneak away from the celebration, head home, take a shower, wear some real clothes for a change, and slowly stood up to leave, only to freeze when her eyes landed on someone across the field.

He was enthusiastically kissing a tall, blonde blood sucker, holding her tightly, probably thanking his lucky stars that they had survived to live another day. Leah hadn't had much contact with him. In fact, excluding Bella and Edward, she hadn't spent any time around the vamps, but if she had she probably would have realized a lot sooner.

Her universe seemed to click into place, just as her stomach dropped in horror. She had imprinted on a vampire, but not just any vampire. She had imprinted on Edward Cullen's brother: Emmett.

_Oh, shit…_

* * *

**_I, um, I don't know what I am doing. So, please forgive me if this is bad, but this idea has been bugging me for quite some time, and the urge to write it has overtaken me._**

**_My plans to continue are iffy right now, it really depends on the response from you, and I'm not even sure if this couple is shipped by anyone. So, yeah._**

**_Uh, thanks for reading, I don't own anyone remotely affiliated with this series, and let me know what you think._**

**_Bye!_**


	2. Chapter 1

Leah did not panic. There was no room to panic, especially not when the slightest overload of emotions could end with someone dead. Instead, she took off into the woods, just needing to run, hopefully escape what had happened to her; anything to keep herself from panicking because this was not happening to her; she did not imprint on a vampire.

She became aware of someone following her, the scent familiar, and she knew he wouldn't give up. So, with a frustrated sigh, she skidded to a halt and turned just as her brother overshot her. He stopped, turned around, and bounded back to her.

'_Are you okay?' _he asked with a small whine.

_'I'm fine,"_ Leah lied, a bite to her voice, '_go home Seth.'_

_'It's hard to lie to me, Leah, especially in this form,'_ Seth reminded her sitting on his back paws. '_I just felt this rush of euphoria from you, followed by some jealousy, anger, and panic…"_

'_I did not panic,_' Leah snarled, needing that to be perfectly clear.

_ 'Okay,'_ Seth relented holding up his left, front paw, '_but something happened, and the last time I felt anything remotely close to that was when Jacob…' _Seth's eyes went wide._ 'Wait, you didn't…?'_

_ 'Leave me alone, Seth.'_ Leah turned to leave, sensing the dejection from her brother. With an annoyed huff, she stopped, hanging her head, and softly said, '_Yes, okay, I did, but I don't want to talk about it.'_

Before her brother could say anything else, she ran off into the woods, stopping just long enough to shift back into her human form. At least she had privacy as a human, the pack unable to enter her mind via telepathy, but it also slowed her down considerably. She still wanted to run, _needed_ to, but beggars couldn't exactly be choosers.

As her panic mellowed, her anger began to take hold. Why was this happening to her? Why, out of every single stupid guy (hell she'd even settle for a girl) on this planet, why did she have to imprint on a stinking vampire?

Wasn't it bad enough her father was dead? Wasn't it bad enough she was stuck shapeshifting into a goddamn werewolf (shapeshifter? whatever) because of those fucking things? Wasn't it bad enough she nearly lost her brother twice because of those _things_? She could never have children, never be normal, and this was just another kick to the head for her.

She lashed out, slamming her fist into a nearby tree, splitting it, and her hand, in two. Blood spilled down her fist, dripping onto the ground, and she stormed away from the tree, very much aware of it crashing into the ground.

The only thing that seemed to calm her down was the fact that there were no written rules that said she _had_ to be with the bloodsucker. Yes, for the rest of her life it'd feel like a piece of her soul was missing, but as long as she avoided Emmett she could survive. She'd survived worse, ignoring her soulmate, or whatever, was not going to be her downfall. And avoiding Emmett would be easy since the werewolves weren't going to be needed (as far as she knew). This would be cake.

**Twilight**

For the next week Leah did a pretty good job at avoiding all vampires (especially Emmett). She threw herself into online classes, having the free time to do so, needing to do something other than wait by the phone for Jacob to call with another disaster courtesy of the local bloodsuckers. Her life felt almost normal except for the dull ache in her chest.

It started the day she decided to ignore the imprinting thing. It wasn't anything to be concerned about, health related things couldn't exactly harm her anymore, but it was annoying. Of course, like every other non-threat in her life, she ignored it, and continued to concentrate on her classes.

About mid-way through week two of Leah's 'I'm going to ignore this crap because I can' plan, she was sitting at the park, underneath a tree, reading a book for her English Lit class, when she heard a laugh from across a small pond. Any other laugh, on any other day, she would have kept reading, but a strong impulse forced her to look up, her dull pain becoming sharp and almost unbearable.

Her eyes locked on a familiar, hulking figure tossing a small girl into the air. She squealed in delight, giggling as the figure caught her, and Leah felt her heart nearly stop, her breath catching in her throat, at the sight of Emmett.

_Of course,_ Leah thought shaking her head. With an annoyed huff, she forced herself to look back at her book. She tried to keep reading, but the laughter pierced her ears, causing her to read the same sentence six times. With a second, more forceful huff, she slammed her book and lithely got to her feet, shoving the book in her bag.

She turned to leave, needing to get the hell away from Emmett Cullen, but froze when she heard Renesme say, "I think that's Leah."

_No,_ Leah thought miserably. _Don't see me. Please don't see me._

Her prayers (extreme thinking) did her no favors, and soon she was overwhelmed by the scent of vampire. She turned, reminding herself that she had to, at the very least, act pleasant for Jacob's sake, and softly said, "Hi."

Renesme offered her a small smile, gripping Emmett's hand. He jumped slightly, anyone _not_ paying attention would have missed it, and said, "Could you please not do that?" Renesme giggled, squeezing his hand. "It's that mind-meld thing she does," Emmett explained turning his golden eyes to Leah's brown ones, smiling. "Been asking her to stop, but like her bullheaded father and stubborn mother she never does as she's told."

"Uh-huh," Leah muttered trying to control the way her heart slammed against her chest. She needed to get away from him before she did something stupid; like pounce on his and shove her tongue down his throat. Something she both wanted to avoid but also see what happened if she tried it.

"Look," Emmett continued, obviously _not_ letting Leah escape with her dignity, "I know you don't exactly trust us, and, let's face it, I'm not exactly Mr. Trusting when it comes to you either, but thanks for being there when the Volturi…" he trailed off, fear flashing in his eyes, only to be replaced by gratitude. "Just thanks."

"No problem," Leah answered quickly, burying her hands in her pocket. She wanted to touch his face, reassure him that everything was going to be alright, but fought the urge. "I need to go," she stated through clenched teeth.

"Yeah," Emmett responded, something akin to suspicion flickering in his eyes. "So do we." And he turned, leading Renesme away from Leah, still tightly holding onto her hand. She must have projected something into his mind because he answered, "I don't know."

Breathing a sigh of relief, hating her body for nearly betraying her, she turned on her heel and headed in the opposite direction. She very nearly shifted right there, needing to race off into the woods, but she remembered she had driven her mom's car, and her mother already hounded her several times for leaving her car parked in random areas.

She headed towards the parking lot, digging the keys out of her jeans' pocket, only to freeze when she smelled the overwhelming stench of vampires again. She breathed out her nose, speeding up slightly, not needing to get into a fight in the middle of a parking lot, at a park, where several humans were bound to see them.

"Look," Emmett started trailing behind her, "I get it, you are the mega, super bitch of your pack," Leah nearly froze at that, but forced herself to keep going, "but you don't have to act like an ass around Renesme. She's never done a goddamn thing to you."

Leah tried ignoring Emmett, her mother's car just in her sight, but between her pounding heart, the dull (or not so dull) ache in her chest, and the way she was just annoyed with vampires in general, she just couldn't do it anymore. So, with a frustrated sigh, she turned on her heel, causing the vampire to skid to a halt to avoid running into her, and snarled, "Don't presume to know anything about me, leech."

"Oh, are we back to name calling?" he asked coolly, crossing his arm. "Fine, mongrel, then let's pretend we never ran into each other." He then turned on his heel and stormed away, muttering under his breath.

Leah watched him go, the pain in her chest intensifying. She latched onto the nearest car, her legs shaking, threatening to collapse underneath her, and fought to breathe. She managed to compose herself several minutes later, running a hand through her short hair, and slowly headed back to her mom's car.

When she arrived home, Jacob was waiting on her front porch. Glaring at the car's ceiling, she wondered how far she'd get if she shifted and took off running into the forest. Probably not far, especially when Jacob could order her to come back, so with a frustrated huff, she removed the keys from the ignition and opened the door.

"Renesme called me," Jacob said the moment Leah approached him, "said you were a little hostile towards her and Emmett."

"I wasn't hostile towards the half…" she trailed off, noting the disapproval lingering in Jacob's eyes, and corrected, "...the girl or her leech uncle." She walked past him, continuing to talk, "I was in a hurry, _he_ wanted to chat…"

"Seth told me what happened," Jacob informed her, and she stopped, rolling her eyes. "Leah, this is a good thing. You've found your other half. You don't realize how…"

"He's a vampire, Jake," Leah exploded, unable to keep it in anymore, turning to face him. "A blood sucking, cold, dead vampire; who has a blonde, dead, cold, blood sucking vampire to keep him warm… or cold, or whatever. Just drop it because I sure as hell am." And before he could call her back, she went inside and slammed the door behind her.

Heart pounding against her chest, her ache worse than before, Leah leaned against the door and tried to ride out the pain, just as she had done at the park, but she increasingly became aware that that may not be an option anymore; just as ignoring Emmett wasn't much of an option anymore. As much as she hated to admit it, she had to confront him eventually.

But that day was not today. As her pain subsided again, she pushed away from the door and trudged into the living room, dropping her bag on the floor. She slowly sat down, sinking into the couch's cushions, wishing, for the millionth time, beyond anything, that this whole 'werewolf/shapeshifter' thing had never happened to her. Why did any of this have to happen at all? Why couldn't this one family tradition skip her and Seth? And, more importantly, why couldn't the bloodsuckers just skip Washington all together? Leave Forks, go to Timbuktu or wherever, just get as far away from their reservation as possible.

Knowing normality was just not in the cards for her, Leah dragged herself to her feet and walked back to the door. She pulled it open, Jacob still standing on the porch. She met his eyes and softly said, "I need to talk to him." Mutely he nodded, holding up his keys to offer her a ride.

Closing the door behind her, Leah followed Jacob down the porch steps. As they headed towards his place, he turned to face her and asked, "Is it one of the Cullens?" She didn't respond, but something on her face must have been answer enough because he said, "This may be more problematic than you realize."

"You think," she stated deadpan, shaking her head. "If this starts another greaser/soc, werewolf/vampire war, blame it on the imprinting thing and _not _me."

"Hey, you imprinted on one of them," Jacob pointed out.

"Shut up," Leah snarled, pushing his head away and speeding up. Sometimes she really hated that she joined his pack.

**Twilight**

Emmett and Renesme were the only two home, the others scattered across town doing whatever vampires did in their spare time. Emmett's eyes narrowed when he opened the door, glaring down at Leah, only to light up slightly when they landed on Jacob.

"Come to get your ass kicked in Mortal Kombat again?" he asked with an easy smile. "Or are you ready to take me on in a real fight?"

"Neither," Jacob answered walking inside, accepting a hug from Renesme as she ran at him. "Leah came to apologize and…" he turned his attention to Leah, obviously waiting for her to ask for whoever she needed to talk to. On the car ride, she had assured Jacob that Edward was not the one she imprinted on, but she hadn't answered him when he asked about Jasper, Carlisle, or Emmett. She wanted to keep that secret for just a while longer.

"Can I talk to you?" Leah asked looking away from Jacob, her eyes settling on Emmett. She ignored the bug-eyed look Jacob threw her, nodding her head towards the front door. Confused and a little wary, Emmett nodded and followed Leah outside.

As she shut the door, Leah heard Jacob say, "Come on, Nessie. Let's go for a walk in the woods."

She waited until she could no longer hear their footsteps before returning her attention to Emmett. He was giving her an impatient look, clearly wanting to be anywhere else, and she could totally feel his pain. Hell, she'd rather be facing the entirety of the Volturi than have to do this.

"What did you want to talk about?" Emmett asked sharply, crossing his arms. "Or are you here to kill us all and save yourself the trouble of visibly hating us with every moral fiber you possess?"

Leah prided herself on being blunt, usually she didn't hesitate to speak her mind, but right that second she was at a loss. How did she explain this? Did she really want to explain this? She was perfectly happy ignoring Emmett and the imprinting thing.

A sharp pain told her she was not happy, and she sighed and said, "Did Jacob ever explain imprinting to you?"

"Imprinting?" Emmett's eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "Is this about Jacob and Nessie? Because, let's face it, we've already accepted that it happened. Yeah, it's a little weird that he imprinted on a baby, but she's going to be an adult in like seven years so…" he trailed off, suddenly realizing what he was saying, and shook his head. "What about imprinting?"

It was now or never. She drew in a deep breath, let it out, and opened her mouth to tell Emmett. Only to have her words die on her throat when a sharp, vicious voice said, "The treaty only holds if you don't kill any of us. Just remember that."

Leah turned to see Rosalie, the blonde bombshell of a blood sucker, stalking towards them. She shot Leah a malicious look before turning her attention to Emmett, wrapping her arm almost possessively around his bicep. "Is she bothering you?"

"Nah," Emmett answered with a wave of his hand. "Nothing I can't handle, babe."

Leah felt a jolt of jealously pierce her heart, anger boiling in her stomach, Emmett calling Rosalie babe like a gunshot wound, and she heard herself blurt out, "I imprinted on you!"

* * *

**It's been like five years since I read the books, so excuse any OOCness. I've been meaning to sit down, refresh my mind, but until then I am relying on the Wikia page. So, bear with me.**

**Thanks to those few people who reviewed, alerted, and favorited last chapter.**

**Thanks for reading, I still don't own anyone, and leave me a comment if you can.**

**Bye!  
**

**P.S. I'll try to do Emmett's POV in the next chapter.**


	3. Chapter 2

A tense silence fell over the trio. Emmett's eyes widened in surprise, and Rosalie gave Leah an incredulous look, her arm tightening around Emmett. "Excuse me?" the blonde asked, her voice calm, almost deadly, her golden eyes flashing.

"You heard me you cold-blooded leech," Leah snarled, her jealously taking hold of her, using her body to address its displeasure over Rosalie touching _her_ imprintee.

"You must be mistaken, little _bitch_," Rosalie said taking a step towards Leah, her fingertips slowly skimming across Emmett's skin as she let him go. "Spending all your time on all-fours doesn't exactly _help_ the brain comprehend human feelings."

"You're one to talk, you overgrown mosquito," Leah snarked back. "Last I checked I'm more human than you'll ever be, and I understand what happened a lot more than you ever will. I imprinted on him," she nodded Emmett's way, "some divine power or whatever thinks we're meant to be together, and there's nothing you can do to stop it."

"I could rip your head off," Rosalie suggested in a soft voice, a feral smile crossing her face. "That'd solve a lot of problems."

"Put your money where your mouth is," Leah challenged spreading her arms, partially shifting. She had been looking for a fight since she imprinted (hell since she had been dragged into this vampire shit storm), but before Rosalie could take more than a few steps towards Leah, Emmett grabbed her around the middle and held her back.

"As much fun as this potential, estrogen-filled death match sounds," he started, trying and failing to make a joke, "I think it's time you leave." His golden eyes settled on Leah's face, something she couldn't quite pinpoint flashing in them.

Leah very nearly ignored Emmett, wanting to remove every, single limb from Rosalie's body, but she refrained. Against her better instincts, and no matter how much she hated the vampires, the last thing she wanted was to upset Emmett. So, with a frustrated sigh, she turned on her heel and stalked away.

"This isn't over, mutt," Rosalie yelled after her, and Leah fought the urge to respond. She listened to Rosalie's angry ranting, taking in all the insults, all the death threats, unable to fight the partially satisfied smile slipping onto her face.

The same smile that dropped a moment later when she thought about what she saw in Emmett's eyes. Yes, he had told her to leave, and yes he seemed slightly more concerned for Rosalie than Leah, but Leah knew what she had seen. He was feeling something for her, something other than mistrust and anger; something Leah's heart told her wasn't bad.

She had heard stories, about the imprintee being drawn to the imprinter. Had seen it firsthand with her fellow pack mates, but, with the exception of Sam (and that hurt marginally less since she imprinted) they didn't have to worry about someone interfering. Of course, if Emmett did choose Rosalie over her there wasn't much she could do; it wasn't like she could _make_ him choose her.

And just what the hell was she talking about? Why did she suddenly care about this imprinting thing? Yes, she told Emmett, but only because he deserved to know. That had nothing to do with her needing to be with him; because she didn't _need_ to be with him. Meant to be or not, Leah didn't _need_ a guy in her life; especially a guy that didn't even have a pulse.

Her pain returned, full force, but she shoved it to the back of her mind, pulling her sweater over her head. She tossed it on Jacob's car's hood, adding her shoes and jeans, hoping he'd pick them up when he left. She then shifted, sprinting into the woods, needing to clear her head. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

Sadly, it wasn't working as well as she had hoped.

**Twilight**

"Wait, explain this to me again," Jasper said later that night, lounging on a tree branch, leg dangling over the edge.

"There's not much to explain, dude," Emmett responded throwing small boulders across the clearing, watching them soar over the river and land on the other side, kicking up dust as they landed heavily in the dirt. "She told me she imprinted on me."

"Leah?" Jasper gave Emmett an incredulous look. "The same Leah who barely tolerates us? The one I am fairly certain wanted to kill both Bella_ and_ Renesme."

"No, the writer," Emmett deadpanned, glaring up at his brother. "Yes, _that_ Leah."

"What are you going to do?" Jasper asked after a beat, picking at his thumbnail.

Emmett didn't respond right away, his eyes tracking the new boulder he threw. What _was_ he going to do? He loved Rose, always would love Rose. She was his other half, understood him in ways even Edward's telepathy or Alice's visions could do, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't _feel_ something when it came to Leah.

He didn't understand it himself, but it was this _pull_, this instinct that _knew_ he and Leah were more than former enemies turned into reluctant allies. The first time he really felt it, had been at the park that morning, when he was up close to Leah.

He'd also be lying if he said he almost followed Leah earlier, after he told her to leave, virtually saving her from Rosalie. He hadn't _wanted_ to see her go, and wasn't that a kick to the balls for him.

"I don't know," he finally said, tilting his head back, blowing out a burst of unneeded air. "I guess I can always have them naked mud wrestle fight to the death. Winner gets me." He forced a grin onto his face, but he knew he didn't fool Jasper.

"Whatever you decide," Jasper said softly, jumping out of the tree and landing softly next to Emmett, "you need to be prepared for a backlash." Jasper then clapped him on the shoulder and walked away, disappearing into the forest, heading back to their house.

"I know," Emmett said into the darkness, sinking onto a fallen tree. He missed the old days, when he was just an intimidating figure that stood in the background, letting enemies know not to fuck with the Cullens. When did his life become a goddamn Nicolas Sparks novel?

The smell of dog dropped him back to reality, but he didn't look up. The werewolves weren't exactly a threat anymore, and even if they tried something, Emmett was still faster than the majority of them (though, he'd seem Seth Clearwater beat Edward in a footrace a few months back; that had been a show).

"I'm sorry," Leah said softly, hovering an arm's length away from Emmett.

"Renesme forgives you," Emmett stated slowly. He knew that wasn't what Leah wanted to talk about, but he'd much rather prolong the conversation for as long as humanly (ha ha) possible.

"I never wanted this to happen," Leah continued moving closer to Emmett, but still remaining out of his reach. "No offense, but I don't exactly-"

"I get it," Emmett interrupted her, snatching a stick from the ground. He began doodling in the dirt, drawing stick figures. "And, if it helps any, I-"

"Yeah, you mentioned it at the park," Leah supplied moving so she was standing in front of Emmett. She sighed, looking down at his doodles. "I'm not going to force you to be with me. That's the last thing I'd do, but-"

"Yeah, Jacob explained it to us." He drew a stick dog to go along with the stick people, one stick person glaring daggers at the dog. "Or he explained as much as he could; even he was a little confused by it."

"It isn't exactly fully explained in our legends." Leah crouched down, using her fingers to add a sun to Emmett's drawing.

The two sat in silence for several minutes; both concentrating on the dirt doodles, but Emmett was the first to break the silence. "What will happen to you if I don't choose you?"

"It'll feel like a piece of my soul is missing," she explained, eyes locked on the wolf's head she was carefully drawing. "I'll feel pain, but it's easily manageable after awhile. Or so I am told." She stood up, dusting her hands on her jeans, and said, "Rosalie should be lucky you two aren't in the pack. She and I would probably have to fight to the death."

Emmett grunted in reply, moving the stick over to Leah's wolf drawing. He began tracing a pattern next to it, keeping his eyes down, and he said, "Yeah, lucky her."

Leah was silent for another moment before half-heartedly joking, "Probably would result in naked wrestling, too." She then walked away, leaving Emmett chuckling softly. His chuckles died when he realized what he drew; an eye, similar to his own, watching the wolf with something akin to desire.

With a frustrated sigh, he threw the stick down and kicked dirt over the drawing, pushing himself to his feet. He debated going home, but that was the last place he wanted to be, so he ran into the woods, just needing to clear his head. It was times like these he wished vampires could sleep because no matter how much 'head clearing' he did, he was still going to be thinking about everything that had been hurtled at him today.

It didn't exactly help that he still wanted_, _almost physically _needed_, to go after Leah. He was so screwed.

* * *

**Happy New Year to everyone reading this :)**

**I think I may have stepped in OOC goo in this chapter. Don't know yet, but if I did apologies to you guys.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, alerted, and favorited last chapter. You guys are awesome.**

**Thanks for reading, drop me a comment if you can, and I'll see you in the next chapter.**

**P.S. Everyone affiliated with this series is not mine**


	4. Chapter 3

**Hey! So, thanks a bunch to everyone who reviewed, alerted, or favorited last chapter. I hope you enjoy this. And thanks for reading.**

**I still don't own 'em.**

**Bye!**

* * *

Leah sat on her mother's porch swing, one leg tucked underneath her while the other rested on the floor, gently rocking her back and forth. Her parents' wedding album lay in her lap, open to their first photo as a married couple. She used to picture her and Sam ending up like her parents. Sitting together on their front porch, watching their grandkids play in the yard. Then the werewolf stuff happened and he imprinted on Emily, leaving Leah heartbroken and believing that true love and forever was just a delusion mothers told their daughters so they didn't grow up bitter and alone.

After Sam, Leah had convinced herself she was never going to find anyone, and she had been okay with that; seriously she had been. So what if the love of her life was with her cousin. So what if she was stuck as this mutant, shapeshifter thing. She was perfectly fine being by herself. She didn't need someone to complete her because she was completely _fine_ by herself.

She turned the page on the photo album, eyes resting on one picture, smiling at the funny faces her dad and Charlie made at the camera. The picture below it was of Charlie dancing with her mom, while her father danced with some woman Leah didn't recognize in the background. The last photo, on the page, was of her parents posing with Charlie.

It made her think about her mother and Charlie. They weren't exactly dating, but they weren't exactly seeing anyone else either. Leah didn't mind, she liked Charlie a lot, but her ideal vision of her future wasn't having Bella Swan as her step-sister. Nothing against Bella, but Leah still couldn't wrap her head around the fact that she threw her entire life away, practically her entire future, on some guy she only knew a little over a year. At least her mother knew Charlie for nearly twenty-three years; had, in fact, gone to college with him; admitted, after far too many shots of vodka, that she had had a giant crush on Charlie.

At least her mother got to pick who she wanted to be with both times.

Leah chuckled humorlessly, closing the wedding album. She placed it next to her, pulling her left leg onto the swing, resting her chin on her jean clad knee. Emmett Cullen had been circling the back of her mind all day. She remembered their brief conversation the day before, out in the woods, just the two of them. He had been surprisingly easy to talk to; or not so surprising seeing as they were apparently made for each other.

Leah hadn't seen Emmett since their talk. Jacob would say she was being a coward, hiding out in her room, avoiding him, but she had several assignments to finish and didn't have time to think about her messed up love life (or lack thereof). She also shoved Jacob off her roof when he started teasing her about 'hiding.'

"Hey." Leah looked up, smiling when she spotted Emily walking towards her. She was carrying a cloth-covered basket, her dark hair done up in a thick braid down her back. She was like a walking embodiment of a fricking princess, even _with_ the scars covering half her body.

"Hi," Leah greeted moving the album so her cousin could sit down. Emily sunk into the cushion, letting her basket rest in her lap. "So, what's up?"

"I made your mom some snickerdoodles," Emily explained nodding at the basket. "And Jacob told me what happened…"

"Is he telling everyone?" Irritated, Leah leaned her head back, running a hand down her face. "What did he say exactly?"

"That you imprinted," Emily said softly, using her feet to gently rock the swing. "He wouldn't tell me on whom, but he said you weren't taking the news well. I thought this would be great for you, Leah. I mean, after Sam…" Guilt crossed her cousin's face, and Leah felt her irritation melt away.

"He's not who I expected," Leah admitted lifting her head.

"Isn't imprinting about expecting the unexpected?" Emily questioned with a small smile. "I mean, I wasn't exactly the biggest fan of Sam, remember?"

"Ah yes, if I recall correctly you kept telling me to leave him. '_He's not good for you, Le-le. You'd be better off dating that med-student.'"_

"I don't sound like that," Emily protested, but she was unable to fight a smile. "So, who did you imprint on? Does he have, like, fifty tattoos and a Harley?"

"Yes, and a nose ring because there's nothing I find sexy than a nose ring," Leah joked listening to her cousin giggle next to her. "Nah, he's…" How exactly did she describe Emmett? She didn't even _know_ anything about him, other than he was giant and a vampire. "I really don't know, yet."

"You'll just have to get to know him," Emily said slowly, pushing the cloth aside and offering Leah a cookie.

"Easy for you to say," Leah stated, taking two cookies. "He's got a viper for a wife."

"Oh." Emily frowned, knowing firsthand what it felt like take a guy from someone else. "What are you going to do about her?"

"I don't even know if I want _him_ yet."

"But he's your perfect match, Le-le. Of course you want him."

"There are no rules that say I _need_ to be with him, Em," Leah pointed out more harshly than she intended. "Sorry," she apologized, wanting to wipe that dejected look off her cousin's face. "I just…" she drew in a deep breath, letting it out in a snarl. "I really don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Sorry," Emily murmured looking down at her knees.

"It's fine," Leah said vaguely waving her hand. The two cousins fell silent, Emily continuing to rock the swing while Leah studied the porch's floor. It was nearly fifteen minutes before the silence was broken again.

"He's a vampire," Leah admitted, knowing she couldn't keep this secret forever.

"Wow," Emily breathed, her dark eyes wide, mouth open slightly. "How did that…?" she cleared her throat, shaking her head. "Wow."

"Yeah," Leah muttered resting her chin on her knee again. "Wow."

**Twilight**

Emmett parked his jeep just on the edge of the border of the Quileutes' territory, leaning over to open the passenger door. He straightened, studying the line, knowing he wasn't about to get his head ripped off for crossing it, but still wary. He recalled, back when Victoria was alive, having a run-in with the wolves while chasing the red-head through the woods. They weren't above removing his head then, and that had only been a year ago. It still baffled him how much things could change in such a short period of time.

"I'd ask what you're doing here, but I think I already know," a soft voice said from the woods. Emmett snorted, shaking his head, watching as Alice shot out of the forest. Climbing into his jeep, she shut the door behind her.

"I smelled you about a mile back," Emmett informed her, keeping his eyes straight ahead.

"And I saw you here two weeks ago," she retorted her golden eyes resting on the side of his face. "You've been flickering in and out of focus for a while now."

"You could have warned me."

"I didn't know what it meant." It troubled her that she hadn't expected imprinting. Emmett doubted anyone could have predicted _that_, especially when Alice's visions didn't exactly work when it came to the wolves. "Rosalie isn't going to be happy."

"What?" Emmett turned, eyebrows furrowed, noting the grim look on Alice's face. He read what she meant after a second, eyebrows raising slowly. He shook his head and said, "I'm not going to…"

"Em, let's be real," Alice said softly, looking away from him. "You've started fading out more and more lately, and a few times I couldn't see you at all. You can fight it all you want, and I don't want to see Rose get hurt, but you know who you're going to choose."

"You can't _know_ for certain," Emmett argued only half in denial. He hated himself for admitting it, but Alice wasn't wrong. The pull to go to her, to Leah, had become nearly unbearable, to the point where he could no longer ignore it.

"Rose is in denial, too," Alice whispered before getting out of the jeep. "Just remember, no one blames either of you." She then shut the door, disappearing into the woods, just as Emmett heard a motorcycle roar to life. He almost started his car and drove away, but figured it wasn't worth it, and got out.

He leaned against the hood of his jeep, watching as Jacob approached. The younger guy skidded to a halt right on the edge of the line, turning his bike off. He gave Emmett a curious look, one eyebrow raised, before nodding his head, giving Emmett permission to follow him. With a small sigh, Emmett returned to his vehicle, starting it just as Jacob kicked his bike back to life, slowly following the wolf over the line and towards La Push; towards Leah.


	5. Chapter 4

**This chapter sort of got away from me. Please enjoy, thank you to everyone who reviewed, alerted, and/or favorited last chapter. And leave me a comment if you can.**

**Thanks for reading, and I still don't own 'em.**

**Bye!**

* * *

Talking with Emily really didn't help Leah. In fact, it left her feeling more miserable than before, and it all stemmed from Emily's comment about Rosalie. Leah didn't particularly care for the blonde leech, in fact she might actually _hate_ her, but she was still married to Emmett. Leah knew firsthand what it felt like to lose someone she loved to this stupid imprinting thing, and as much as she despised Rosalie Cullen, she didn't _want_ to rip apart hers and Emmett's relationship.

A month ago, if anyone were to have told Leah she'd be worried about breaking up two vampires, she would have laughed in their face and most likely punched them for being an idiot. It truly astounded her how much someone could change in such a short period of time.

With a small sigh, she stood up, intending to go inside, possibly make something to eat, but froze when she caught the familiar scent of vampire. Watching the road warily, wondering if Rosalie was on her way to continue their 'conversation,' Leah readied herself for a fight only to retract her claws when she spotted Jacob leading a jeep towards her.

Jacob gave her a two-fingered wave before continuing on his way, leaving the jeep to park in front of her house. Leah spotted who was behind the wheel, her eyes narrowing slightly, but she still stepped off her porch and headed towards the vehicle.

"You're not hiding your wife in the back are you?" Leah asked carefully, speaking through the open passenger window. Mutely, Emmett shook his head. "Does Rosalie know you're here?"

"Would you like to go for a ride with me?" Emmett completely ignored Leah's question, virtually answering it, and reached over to open the door. Leah stepped back, giving Emmett a small glare, and he sighed. "Please."

She glanced back at her house, chewing on her lip thoughtfully, but finally nodded and turned back, slipping into the jeep. She shut the door, putting her seatbelt on, and Emmett peeled out of her driveway, kicking up gravel as he headed back towards the reservation's entrance.

"So, where are we going?" Leah asked slowly, after a brief silence.

"Wherever you want to go," Emmett replied glancing over at her. "We could just drive, or we can stop. Are you hungry? I can't exactly eat, but…"

"I'm fine," Leah answered softly. "Let's just drive."

"I can do that." Emmett pressed the pedal down, nearly touching the floor, a heavy silence descending over the jeep.

It was a good fifteen minutes before Emmett said, "Tell me more about this imprinting thing."

"What do you want to know?" Leah asked carefully, elbow resting on the windowsill, palm holding her hand up, her eyes watching the scenery fly by.

"You said that it would cause you pain if we weren't together," Emmett stated slowly, letting the gas up just long enough to take a right turn before pushing the pedal to the floor again.

"So the legend says, but no one has ever been rejected by their imprintee," Leah muttered turning to look at Emmett, noting something akin to worry in his eyes. A sudden, overwhelming need to reassure him rolled through her, and Leah quickly said, "It doesn't mean we _have_ to be together. You have Rosalie to think about, and as much as I don't like her, no offense to you, I'm not going to come between you two. I know what it feels like, and I never…" she trailed off, looking away from him, her dark eyes glaring at the scenery.

Emmett nodded, but stayed silent, his golden eyes watching the road. Another tense silence filled the car, and Emmett once again broke it. "Can we…?" he trailed off, obviously trying to reword the question, and finally said, "We can be friends."

"Friends?" Leah shot him an incredulous look.

"You'll pretty much feel pain if I'm not in your life, right? That's what Jacob told us. So, why can't we be friends?"

"Friends?" Leah repeated the word, testing it. Being friends with a vampire was very low on her list of priorities, hell it didn't even make the list, but she figured friends had to be better than nothing. "What makes you think I want to be friends with a vampire?"

"What makes you think I want to be friends with a she-wolf?" Emmett retorted easily, barely holding a smile at bay. "We can try it at the very least. See how well it works out."

"Trial basis?"

"Why not."

Leah crossed her arms, thinking it over, but she finally nodded and said, "I don't want to be friends with a vampire…" he opened his mouth to protest, but she pressed on, cutting him off. "…but I want to try being friends with you."

"Okay," Emmett agreed holding his hand out. "Friends?"

"Friends." Leah stared at the hand, barely masked disgust on her face, but still shook the icy appendage. She let it go just as quickly, leaning back in her seat. She didn't know why, but a part of her felt like she had just made a deal with the devil.

**Twilight**

"Friends?" Rosalie hovered over Emmett, giving him an incredulous look, one eyebrow raised. "Friends? You decided to become friends with her?"

"Rose, listen…"

"Why are you even seeing her? She's going to bring us nothing but trouble, Em. You _have_ to see that."

"Rosie, I can't stop what happened," Emmett said quickly, standing from the couch, irritation flaring up in his gut. He pushed it down, calmly continuing, "I just don't want to be the reason she lives with this constant pain, and being friends with her ensures I don't lose you. I love you, Rose. You know I do."

She sighed, her eyes going heavenward, but finally Rosalie's eyes met his and she whispered, "I love you, too." She stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. "I don't want to lose you either."

"And you won't, babe. I'm yours for eternity." He gently grabbed her chin, tilting her head up so he could softly kiss her, and for a split second everything seemed normal. Then he wondered what it would feel like to kiss Leah and he broke away from Rosalie, taking a step away from her.

"Are you alright?" she asked slowly, worriedly.

"Yeah," he answered with a short nod. "I'm fine."

"Okay," Rosalie replied skeptically, turning her head when Alice softly called her name from upstairs. "I don't like this 'friends' thing, but I trust you." He nodded again, watching as she walked past him, disappearing up the steps.

He felt a hand slip into his, a small voice asking if he was okay. He smiled, glancing down at Renesme, and softly said, "I'm alright."

_'Are you sure?'_ Renesme projected, her face and eyes openly worried.

"I'm sure," Emmett reassured her, squeezing her hand. "Now, I was going to attempt to make cookies, but I'm not quite sure where Esme keeps everything." Renesme smiled, projecting how much of a liar he was, but still proceeded to drag him into the kitchen, giggling when he grabbed her around the waist and threw her over his shoulder.

"Okay, where's that cookbook your mom put together for you," Emmett said placing Renesme on the floor, opening the nearest drawer. It had been Bella's attempt to help Renesme and Charlie grow even closer (like they really needed to bond anymore than they already had), putting every recipe she knew in an old scrapbook. Renesme liked to try different recipes, despite being the only one who actually ate in the house, convincing Jacob and Charlie to eat her cooking.

"In my room," Renesme said and skipped out the door, running towards the forest. Emmett watched her go for a moment, but the scent of dog distracted him, followed by a knock at the door. Emmett headed towards the living room, grinning when he spotted Jacob and Seth standing outside.

"You're in luck," Emmett said opening the door, "Renesme is dragging out her cookbook."

"Renesme can cook?" Seth asked curiously looking between his alpha and Emmett.

"Not exactly," Jacob and Emmett said fondly, "but she's getting better," Jacob added heading inside, automatically going towards the kitchen, leaving Seth and Emmett standing in the foyer.

"So, how's things?' Seth asked curiously, glancing up at Emmett.

"Could be worse," Emmett answered with a shrug, closing the door.

"Ah." Seth nodded, rocking back on his heels. "So, Jacob told me about you and my sister. I'm sorry."

"For?"

"I'm not exactly sure," Seth mumbled running a hand through his hair. "I know you and Rose are, like, together and married and stuff, so that's got to suck."

"Leah and I have decided to be friends."

"That's better than nothing, I suppose."

The two fell silent, neither one looking at each other, and Emmett could not remember the last time Seth had been this quiet. With a huffed laugh, the taller of the two nodded towards the TV and said, "Mario Kart is still in the Wii. Wanna play a few rounds?"

"Yes," Seth replied without hesitation, already moving towards the couch. "I have to warn you, though. I've been practicing, and I've gotten pretty fricking good."

"You wish, wolf boy," Emmett teased with a small smile, ruffling the kid's hair. For the moment, life was feeling pretty good. His problems weren't magically fixed, but they had a temporary solution. One Emmett had a feeling probably wouldn't last, but it felt nice to live in denial for just a little while longer.

**Twilight**

Leah leaned against her car, arms crossed, watching the sunset, when she sensed more than saw him walking towards her. With a small sigh, she straightened up, turning to see Emmett.

"What are you doing here?" she asked slowly, curiously, maybe even a little warily.

"Well, we're friends, so let's do friends stuff," Emmett responded with a vague hand motion.

"Friends stuff?" Leah raised her eyebrows incredulously, crossing her arms again. "What did you have in mind, 'friend?'"

"I would suggest fetch, but I figured that's in bad taste," Emmett retorted with a smirk on his face.

"We could always visit the butcher shop. I hear pigs' blood is all the rage," Leah countered smoothly, unable to fight her own smile.

"Yeah," Emmett started wrapping an arm around Leah's shoulders, pretending not to notice the way she tensed at the sudden contact with the cold, "I can see us being _great_ friends."

**Twilight**

It was unseasonably warm, so Emmett and Renesme decided to go on a hike. Leah wasn't certain whose idea it was to invite her along, but she had been picked up at an ungodly hour, dragged out of bed by cold hands and warm giggles, and now sat on the ground, right next to a river, watching as Emmett drew the worst wolf she had ever seen.

"That's a terrible wolf," Leah said glancing over at Emmett's stick drawing. "It looks more like a pig than an actual wolf."

"Yeah Uncle Em," Renesme agreed swinging upside down from a nearby tree, "it doesn't even have ears."

"I'm working on it," Emmett grumbled playfully, moving the stick a bit, fixing the ears. "You two are just a couple of nags."

"I wouldn't _nag_ you if you'd learn to draw," Leah teased coming up behind Emmett, holding her own stick. "First off, you gave your wolf a snout." She fixed the wolf's nose, her chest pressed against Emmett's back. The fact that the cold hardly registered was not lost on her, but she chose to ignore that. "Second, you need to fix your ears."

Renesme dropped down from the tree, walking over to her uncle and Leah, crouching down to watch the drawing. She grabbed her own stick, trying to copy Leah, but she caught sight of Emmett's second attempt at a wolf and dissolved into giggles.

"I should throw you both in the river," Emmett said his voice gruff, but a wicked smile slowly spread across his face. He stood up, Leah quickly back away from him, readying herself to run if she had to, watching as Renesme retreated to her tree again, yelling, "No, Uncle Em, no!"

"Emmett no," Leah said quickly, taking a step away from the vampire. He playfully snarled, stalking towards her. He jumped at her, and she jumped up, landing on a tree branch about ten feet above her, smirking down at him.

He moved fast, shaking the tree violently, Leah's smirk quickly leaving her face. She attempted to jump out of the tree, trying to avoid falling off the branch, but before she could hit the ground, Emmett caught her, both landing in the water with a great splash.

Leah resurfaced first, coughing, dunking Emmett the moment he popped out of the water. Renesme giggled from the tree. With a shriek, she launched herself in the water, landing a few inches from Leah and Emmett. When she resurfaced she was laughing hard, already swimming towards shore so she could try it again.

"You still want to be friends with me?" Emmett asked from behind Leah, a laugh in his voice. With an impish smile, Leah turned and dunked Emmett a second time, quickly swimming back to shore, calling over her shoulder, "Are you sure you want to be mine?"

He was laughing when he resurfaced, catching Renesme when she launched herself at him. Leah lowered herself to the ground, wringing out her hair, watching as Emmett threw his niece into the water. It was such a simple moment, something Leah remembered her uncle doing with her and Seth when they were kids, but something seemed to click while she was watching Emmett with Renesme. Something she had been trying to avoid for the past two weeks, since she and Emmett decided to be friends.

She might be falling in love with Emmett Cullen.


	6. Chapter 5

**I'm not one-hundred percent happy with this, but I did try. So, there's a brightside.**

**Anyway, thanks to those who reviewed, alerted, or favorited last chapter. I'm not quite sure how many more chapters this story has, but I'm starting to think it's not going to be very long. We'll see.**

**Thanks for reading, drop me a comment if you can, and I apologize for any OOCness.**

**I don't own 'em, and I am sorry for what transpires.**

**Bye!**

* * *

"Hey, Leah, it's Emmett… again." He wanted to ask where she's been the past three days. Wanted to know why she suddenly started avoiding him. Wanted to know what the hell he did because he _must_ have done something; made her uncomfortable somehow. Maybe tackling her into the river hadn't been the best idea, but she hadn't seemed bothered by it at the time. He would have smelled any discomfort on her. Something must have happened, and it was worrying him that she wouldn't answer her phone.

But he didn't demand any answers from her. Instead, he sighed, running a hand through his hair, and said, "Just call me back please." He hung up his cell phone, lightly tossing it on the couch, and started pacing across the living room floor.

When Leah first started avoiding him, Emmett had called Jacob. If anyone knew what was going on with her, it'd be him, but he said she was fine. Had, in fact, been seen walking across the beach ("_or more like stalking, but sometimes, even when she's happy, Leah looks pissed")_ earlier that morning. Seth, having been in the same room with Jacob, the unmistakable sound of Zelda in the background, confirmed his sister was fine, quite loudly, followed by several swear words when he messed up in the game.

"_I can ask her to call you,"_ Jacob suggested but when Emmett declined, he still gave the vampire Leah's number. "_You know, just in case."_

He had only called three times, not wanting to come off sounding pushy or stalkerish (Forks had already gotten enough of _that_ from his brother), but Leah had neglected to answer each time. A few times, Emmett almost ran to her house, demanded to know what was going on, but he didn't want this to turn into a big fight between the two. She had just started trusting him; he didn't want to screw it up. That is, if it hadn't already been screwed up.

"Maybe you should go talk to her," Renesme suggested from the stairway, watching her uncle worriedly.

"I'd like that Nessie, but I have a feeling she won't answer the door," Emmett replied softly, glancing over at her.

"But I miss Leah." It hadn't been lost on Emmett, how much time Renesme had been spending around Leah over the past few weeks. Between Jacob and Emmett, Renesme had become attached to Leah like she became attached to everyone else she met, and Leah was slowly starting to warm up to the younger girl, too.

"I miss her, too, Ness," Emmett admitted softly, starting to pace again, albeit much slower.

"Then let's go." Renesme jumped off the stairs, heading towards her uncle, grabbing his hand. At first, he very nearly resisted, but he really did miss Leah, wanted to see her more than anything, and allowed himself to be dragged to the door.

The drive to Leah's place felt longer than it actually was, Emmett very nearly turning around several times, but he eventually crossed the line separating the vampires from the werewolves. Renesme sat in her seat, nose pressed to the window, practically bouncing with excitement. She tended to get that way whenever she was anywhere near Jacob.

"Can we stop and see Jacob first?" she asked curiously, turning to look at her uncle.

"How about I drop you off and pick you up on the way back," Emmett suggested glancing over at her.

"But I want to see Leah."

"I'll bring her with me," Emmett said, hoping he could keep that promise. Renesme finally nodded, agreeing to the suggestion, and Emmett stopped out front of Jacob's house. Renesme jumped out of the jeep, waving good-bye to her uncle, and raced towards Jacob's front door. Emmett waited until she was inside, Billy answering the door with a friendly smile, before pulling back onto the gravel road.

**Twilight**

Leah smelled him moments before she heard his jeep stop in front of her house. She made no move to get off her bed, even when he knocked on the front door, glaring at her ceiling. She wasn't mad at Emmett, she could never be mad at him, even if she tried (and she had tried, several times). She was mostly mad at herself and her stupid feelings.

Why did they have to ruin a perfectly good friendship? She was fine with just being his friend, could have kept being his friend, having him in her life, but life never seemed to go her way anymore. She was a ball of screwed up, and Emmett really did not deserve a friend like her.

She understood how stupid she sounded. Just because she was in love with him didn't mean they couldn't _still_ be friends, but it'd be hard on Leah, being in love with someone she could never have. Seeing him every day, being the best friend he needed, while she sat in a pool of her own misery, pining. She did not want to pine over Emmett. She just wanted to be his fricking friend.

Someone knocked on her door, startling her, and Seth called, "Leah, Emmett's downstairs."

"Tell him to go away," Leah called back, grabbing a pillow and covering her face with it.

"He said he's not leaving until you two talk."

"Tell him that's a tad controlling."

"He says he's sorry for whatever he did," Seth murmured sadly, and Leah felt her heart clench. Emmett actually thought this was his fault. She sighed heavily. Why did the guy always assume he did something wrong?

With a small, humorless huff, Leah threw her pillow off her face and rolled to her feet. She couldn't allow Emmett to take the blame. This was her problem, _not_ his, and him shouldering it would just irritate and worry her at the same time (imprinting was a complicated thing).

She opened her door, Seth nearly falling into her room, and shoved past her brother, heading down the stairs. Emmett stood on her porch, back to her, muttering under his breath. She knew he knew she was standing behind him, so she couldn't exactly race back upstairs like a teenager (and that above everything else was pissing her off; how much like a teenager she was acting).

Rolling her eyes, she grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open, stepping outside. Closing it behind her, she pulled her sweater tighter around her, staving off a phantom breeze, and said, "Why are you here?"

"Why are you avoiding me?" Emmett retorted turning to look at her, crossing his arms tightly across his chest. He hung his head, obviously asking the wrong question, and quickly muttered, "Sorry."

"Look, I've got a lot of studying to do…" Leah turned to leave, but Emmett gently caught her arm, stopping her mid-step.

"Did I do something?" he asked slowly, softly.

Leah turned to look at him, her heart skipping at the look of desperation on his face, and shook her head. "It's something I did." She then extracted her arm, heading back towards the front door.

"But you didn't _do_ anything," Emmett called after her, causing her to stop.

Leah closed her eyes, bowing her head, and whispered, "I did."

"I don't under…"

"I'm in love with you, okay?" She whirled around to face him, her fists clenched at her sides. "I did the one thing I was trying to avoid. I fell in love with you, and since I can't have you I just… I think we shouldn't be friends for a while." Her pain returned, piercing her in the chest, nearly bringing her to her knees, but she fought to stay standing, forcing herself to walk back towards her house.

"Leah."

"Go home, Emmett," Leah said quietly, silently begging him to leave her alone. "J-just go home." She was nearly to her door when he grabbed her again, just below her elbow, cool hands leaving her hot skin tingling, and turned her towards him, pressing a cold, burning kiss to her lips.

Her heart sped up, her breath catching in her throat, but she returned the kiss readily, fire meeting ice, leaving her shivering and wanting more, only to remember that Emmett had a wife. Rosalie was still in the picture. What the flying _fuck_ were they doing?

She wrenched away from Emmett, slamming into her front door, breathing heavily, shaking. She met his gaze, surprise written all over his face, and said, "I-I…"

"I have to go," Emmett said softly and he was at his jeep in a blink of an eye, already behind the wheel, backing out of Leah's driveway. Still standing by her door, limbs still a little rubbery, Leah felt as if she betrayed Rosalie.

_How is this my life,_ she thought leaning her head back, closing her eyes. That could never, ever happen again, she'd make sure of it.

**Twilight**

Emmett was about halfway home, silently cursing himself for what he had just done, when he remembered he hadn't been alone. Renesme was still at Jacob's. He turned around, knowing Edward and Bella would kill him if he had forgotten their daughter.

Luckily for him-there was just no way he could face Leah now-Jacob was waiting at the border, Renesme and him sitting on the hood of his car, playing Slap-Jack. Emmett screeched to a halt, throwing open his door, and hurried towards the pair.

"Sorry," he apologized quickly, ruffling his hair. "I'm just so used to her being up here," he pointed at his head, "that I forgot I brought her with me." He knew his jesting fell flat, fooling neither Jacob nor Renesme, but neither called him out on his bullshit.

"I could keep her for a while," Jacob suggested laying another card on their growing pile, "if you need to go somewhere." Obviously, Jacob either knew, or suspected, and Emmett wasn't quite sure how he felt about that, but at least he didn't have to spend ten extra, very awkward, minutes explaining that he had not only betrayed his wife, but his best friend's trust.

"I, I couldn't…"

"I was heading back towards your place anyway," Jacob stated as Renesme slapped the pile, giggling, but it sounded forced, her dark eyes continuing to shoot Emmett worried glances. "Take your time, I'll tell the others you went hiking."

"Alright," Emmett finally agreed, nodding. Jacob wasn't going to hurt Renesme, he'd die before he hurt her, and Emmett really needed to get away, clear his head, and think about what he did. Because he fucked up, there's no denying that, and he knew that he'd have to tell Rosalie. He'd also have to apologize to Leah, keep Rosie from killing Leah, and pretty much hope both women could forgive him. But first, he had to deal with all these feelings, sort through them; try to find a meaning that made sense.

He headed back towards his jeep, slowly getting inside. He backed up, giving Jacob and Renesme a small wave, and headed back down the road, the pedal to the floor. He had to get away from Forks for a while, go somewhere where he could think without being disturbed.

He was halfway to California when he realized Leah had kissed him back.


End file.
